Drapery carrier



Nov. 22, 1966 J. E. GOLDEN DRAPERY CARRIER Filed Aug. 14, 1964 V flew/03d .C k 1 111,4 4 AL L- hm Cfl TomsY/ QWEN Wu United States Patent 3,286,299 DRAPERY CARRIER Jerrold E. Golden, Freeport, Ill., assignor to Western Newell Mfg. Co., Freeport, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed Aug. 14, 1964, Ser. No. 389,652 2 Claims. (Cl. 1687.4)

This invention relates to a carrier of the type used to hang a pleated drape from a track so that the drape may be drawn and opened by sliding the carriers back and forth in the track.

The general object of the invention is to provide a new and improved drapery carrier which may be fastened to a drape easily and accurately, which is unobtrusive from both the front and back of the drape, which need not be removed once attached, and which is comparatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

A more detailed object is to provide a carrier which may easily be sewn directly to the drape by an ordinary sewing machine and which, at the same time, effectively draws and opens the drape.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a drape hung by carriers embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 22 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 33 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the carrier.

As shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration, the invention is embodied in carriers which ride in a horizontal track 11 .and which support a drape 12 so that the latter may be drawn and opened by sliding the carriers back and forth in the track. In the present instance, the track is in the form of a downwardly opening channel with outwardly projecting flanges 13 for mounting the track on the upper horizontal member 14 of a window frame. The channel is partially closed by inturned flanges 15 and each carrier 10 is formed with a head 16 which is disposed within the channel and rides on the flanges 15.

Depending from the head 16 is a neck 17 which passes freely between the flanges 15 and supports .a body portion 18 which is fastened to the drape 12. As is customtary, the drape may be made with alternating front and back pleats 19 and 20 with narrow panels 21 between the successive pleats. As shown in FIG. 1, a carrier 10 is fastened to every other panel 21 so that the carriers are moved back and forth on the track to fold or expand the pleats and thereby open or draw the drape.

In accordance with the present invention, the carriers 10 are constructed in a novel manner so that they may be easily and accurately fastened to the drape while, at the same time, the drape is attractive from the back as well as from the front. Moreover, the carriers stack the pleats compactly when the drape is open. In addition, the carriers are extremely simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

To achieve the foregoing, each carrier is made as a single, unitary piece of molded plastic and is formed Patented Nov. 22, 1966 The blade 18 may be relatively small and need only be long enough to permit the drape to be stitched to the blade along two spaced lines as indicated at 22. Normally, the blades are placed against the back side of the drape and are not visible from the front. Becaus of their small size, they also are' relatively unobtrusive even from the back. Moreover, the plastic may be at least partially transparent so that the color and design of the drapery fabric may show through the blade 18 and, thus, the carrier is even less noticeable.

In order to locate each carrier 10 properly and easily relative to the drape, the carrier is provided with a guide against which the upper edge of the drape may be placed while the drape and carrier are sewn together. Herein, this guide is a horizontal flange 23 extending across the top of the blade. Prefer-ably, flanges are formed on both sides of the blade so that the carriers are reversible whereby it makes no difference which side of the blade is placed against the drape.

With the foregoing arrangement, each carrier 10 is put in place with the blade 18 flat against the back of the drape and with the upper edge of the drape against one of the flanges 23 as shown in FIG. 3. With the carrier in this position, an ordinary sewing machine is used to stitch along the lines 22. As the needle of the machine passes over the blade, it penetrates the blade so that the thread stitches the blade to the drape. The drape then is hung simply by inserting the heads 16 of the carriers in the track 11. Thereafter, the carriers remain attached to the drape and need not be removed for laundering, dry cleaning, pressing or similar purposes.

I claim as my invention:

1. A drapery carrier comprising a thin, flat and generally rectangular blade portion adapted to lie in a vertical plane, a head spaced above said blade portion and alined with the vertical centerline of the blade portion, said blade portion being made of a rigid plastic material and the thickness of the blade portion being correlated with said material to permit the needle of an ordinary sewing machine to pass through the blade portion whereby the material of a drape may be sewn directly to the blade portion, an intermediate portion rigidly connecting said head and said blade portion, the upper part of said intermediate portion being generally cylindrical and smaller in cross section than said head and lower part of said intermediate portion being generally planar to merge with said blade portion, and a horizontal flange extending across said blade portion adjacent the upper end thereof to locate the drape relative to the blade portion, said flange being defined by shoulders which are contiguous with said intermediate portion and the blade portion and which are at a right angle to the blade portion.

2. A drapery carrier comprising a thin, flat and generally rectangular blade portion adapted to lie in a vertical plane, a head spaced above said blade portion and alined with the vertical centerline of the blade portion, said blade portion being made of a rigid plastic material and the thickness of the blade portion being correlated with said material to permit the needle of an ordinary sewing machine to pass through the blade portion whereby the material of a drape may be sewn directly to the blade portion, an intermediate portion rigidly connecting said head and said blade portion, the upper part of said intermediate portion being generally cylindrical and 10 blade portion, said flange being contiguous with said in- H termediate portion and the blade portion and at a generally right angle to the blade portion.

2,834,980 5/1958 Fridolph 1695 3,055,419 9/1962 Rubin et a1 16084 3,175,243 3/1965 Weber 1687.4

EDWARD C. ALLEN, Primary Examiner.

J. H. MCGLYNN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A DRAPERY CARRIER COMPRISING A THIN, FLAT AND GENERALLY RECTANGULAR BLADE PORTION ADAPTED TO LIE IN A VERTICAL PLANE, A HEAD SPACED ABOVE SAID BLADE PORTION AND ALINED WITH THE VERTICAL CENTERLINE OF THE BLADE PORTION, SAID BLADE PORTION BEING MADE OF A RIGID PLASTIC MATERIAL AND THE THICKNESS OF THE BLADE PORTION BEING CORRELATED WITH SAID MATERIAL TO PERMIT THE NEEDLE OF AN ORDINARY SEWING MACHINE TO PASS THROUGH THE BLADE PORTION WHEREBY THE MATERIAL OF A DRAPE MAY BE SEWN DIRECTLY TO THE BLADE PORTION, AN INTERMEDIATE PORTION RIGIDLY CONNECTING SAID HEAD AND SAID BLADE PORTION, THE UPPER PART OF SAID INTERMEDIATE PORTION BEING GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL AND SMALLER IN CROSS SECTION THAN SAID HEAD AND LOWER PART OF SAID INTERMEDIATE PORTION BEING GENERALLY PLANAR TO MERGE WITH SAID BLADE PORTION, AND A HORIZONTAL FLANGE EXTENDING ACROSS SAID BLADE PORTION ADJACENT THE UPPER END THEREOF TO LOCATE THE DRAPE RELATIVE TO THE BLADE PORTION, SAID FLANGE BEING DEFINED BY SHOULDERS WHICH ARE CONTIGUOUS WITH SAID INTEMEDIATE PORTIO AND THE BLADE PORTION AND WHICH ARE AT A RIGHT ANGLE TO THE BLADE PORTION. 